Little Buffy
by Zarrah
Summary: A spell to bring Buffy out of her gloomy mood backfires, causing a 'small' problem for the Scoobies **Complete**
1. Default Chapter

Title: Little Buffy  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Setting: Up to 'Once More With Feeling'  
  
Author: Zarrah  
  
Disclaimer: Belong to Joss not me..you know the drill  
  
Summary: A spell to bring Buffy out of her gloomy mood backfires causing a 'small' problem for the Scoobies.  
  
  
"Hey...I'll be in the back if anyone needs me" Buffy said as she entered the Magic Box and headed towards the training room.  
  
Dawn, Willow and Anya sat at the research table and watched her walk by, barely even giving them a second glance.  
  
"I wish I knew what was wrong with her." Willow told the other's when they heard Buffy pounding on her punching bag. "She's been this way since...well, you know"  
  
"I know...she's just so...serious all the time. It's like she don't even remember how to have a good time anymore. She hardly ever smiles or laughs." Dawn told them. "I wish there was something we could do to cheer her up."  
  
"Maybe she just needs more time" Willow said still staring at the training room.  
  
"If we knew what was wrong with her, it would help." Dawn said. "Hey, Willow...is there a spell maybe we could do to help?"  
  
"No!" Willow yelled. " No spells for me. Spells are no good"  
  
"You wouldn't have to do it, Anya you could do it....couldn't you?" Dawn asked anxiously.  
  
"Sure, I can do it."  
  
"So, do you know of any?" Dawn asked Willow again.  
  
Willow looked at Dawn, her face a mask of concentration then brightened as if some big light bulb had gone off in her head.  
  
"I think I know just the one." she said smiling brightly.  
  
Willow went up the stairs to the loft and came down a few minutes later with a very large dusty book. She handed it to Anya quickly as if it had burned her. She smiled shyly at Dawn and Anya when they gave her a funny look.  
  
"Sorry, it's still a little tempting."  
  
"It's okay" Dawn told her smiling.  
  
Anya had began flipping through the large volume while Willow took a seat on the far side of the table. The further away from the open spell book the better.  
  
"It's called "Inner Child" Willow told them. "The spell helps bring a person's 'Inner Child' forward, giving them all the happy thoughts and carefree nature of a child. She wouldn't be plagued with all this 'grown up' doom and gloom she has to deal with right now.  
  
"So, you think this will help?" Dawn asked happily.  
  
"Don't see why not." Willow answered her. "She'll still be the same ole Buffy, only she'll simply enjoy things in life and not be so...uptight."  
  
Anya and Dawn went about the store gathering the supplies they need to perform the spell. Once everything was prepared, Anya put the necessary ingredients into a bowl and began the chant.  
  
Force of Nature  
End thy Fright  
Let the Child come to Light  
No more worries, no more doubt  
Let thy see what life's about.  
  
"What are you doing?" Spike asked the three girls when Anya had finished the spell.  
  
All three let out a shriek when he spoke.  
  
"Geez, Spike don't do that!" Dawn yelled at him, having been scared by his sudden appearance.  
  
Spike smiled at the three. He loved being able to scare people...even if it was as pathetic as sneaking up on them.  
  
"What kind of mojo are you three conjuring up now?" he asked them glancing over at the spell book.  
  
"Oh, nothing" Willow said quickly as she busied herself helping Anya remove all traces of the spell.  
  
"Right" Spike said drawing out his word. "Well, need to talk to the Slayer" he told them as he turned and went towards the training room.  
  
"That was close" Dawn said as Spike shut the training room door behind him.  
  
"You can say that again" Willow said looking a little scared at being caught this close to magic again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Spike entered the training room. He came by a couple nights a week to help Buffy train. Well, more like he would try and duck as she pounded him into the mat.  
  
"Buffy, you in here?" he asked when he didn't see her. He walked to the center of the room and turned his head to the right when he heard a small whimpering noise.  
  
"Buffy?" he said again as he walked towards the source of the sound.  
  
Spike peaked around a stack of shipping crates that were stacked over in the corner when he heard a sniffling noise. His eyes went wide when he saw the source of all the sniffles.  
  
Crouched down in the corner was a small girl with big tears rolling down her face. She had long brownish blonde hair and her clothes consisted of a T-shirt that hung on her like an oversized nightgown.  
  
"Hey pet, where'd you come from?" Spike said as he crouched down in the floor in front of her. She looked to be about 4 or 5 years old and Spike had no idea who she was or how she had gotten in there.  
  
The little girl looked up at him, her big green eyes shining with fresh tears.   
  
"I want my mommy" she said as she buried her head in her knees and started to cry softly again.  
  
"Oh, come now, don't do that. We'll find her" Spike said as he reached out and ran his hand across her head, trying to calm her.  
  
The little girl looked up at him again.  
  
"You know my mommy?" she asked through her sniffles.  
  
"Well, tell me your mums name and we'll go see if we can find her." Spike said smiling at the girl. There was something about her that seemed familiar to him. Something in her eyes reminded him of someone.  
  
"Her names Joyce" the little girl told him.  
  
"Joyce" Spike said a little shocked. He cocked his head to the side and looked at her. He put a finger under her chin and raised her head up. Her big green eyes locked with his and his eyes widened when he realized what he saw.  
  
"What's your name?" he asked her..fearing what she would say.  
  
"Buffy" the little girl said shyly. "Will you help me find my mommy?"  
  
Spike couldn't believe what he was seeing. He looked around the training room and noticed Buffy's shoes laying by the punching bag and her pants right beside them. He looked back at the little girl when the realization of what he was seeing hit him.  
  
This little girl was Buffy.....his Buffy!  
  
TBC....... 


	2. Chapter Two

"Buffy...what happened?" Spike asked her, confusion clouding his face.  
  
"What's your name" Buffy asked looking up at him.  
  
"Uh..Spike. You don't remember me?" he asked unsure of what was happening.  
  
Buffy giggled at him and wiped at her tear streaked face.   
  
"Spike aint no bodies name. Did your mommy name you that?" she asked him as she stood up.  
  
Spike smiled at her as she got up from the floor and stood directly in front of him.  
  
"No, my mum didn't name me that." he said smiling at her.  
  
"What she name you then?" Buffy asked again.  
  
"Well, she named me William" he told her, still smiling.  
  
"Oh, you talk funny" Buffy said staring at him, already have forgotten about his name.  
  
Spike chuckled at her. "Yeah, suppose I do. How 'bout we go see about getting you fixed...shall we?" he asked her.  
  
"Okay" she said as she threw her arms around his neck and climbed in his lap.  
  
Spike was shocked and sat there a moment before wrapping his arms around her and stood up. Buffy wrapped her legs around his waist and laid her head down on his shoulder. Spike grinned big and shook his head as he headed out of the training room. * This is gonna be fun* he thought to himself, grinning.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Any of you ladies care to tell me what kind of spell you were doing when I walked in here?" Spike asked as he walked out the training room.  
  
Willow, Dawn and Anya looked over at him and went wide eyed when they saw him carrying a little girl.  
  
Spike walked over to the table and sat Buffy down on top of it.  
  
"Here you go pet, sit right here." he told her as he removed her arms from around his neck.  
  
"I aint no pet, I'm a girl" Buffy said looking up at him.  
  
Spike chuckled at her. "Yeah, I know your a girl....that's just a nickname...like my name is."  
  
"Oh...okay then....I have a pet kitty at home. Her name is purple." she said, a big smile on her face.  
  
Spike looked down at her and smiled."Your cat's name is purple?"  
  
"Uh huh....but she's white."  
  
"Then why did you name her purple."  
  
"Cause I like purple. Don't you?"  
  
"Well, it's kind of a girlie color."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes at him and sighed. "All boy's say that"  
  
Spike laughed at her before he turned his attention back to the girls responsible for this 'Little Buffy'.  
  
"Who is that?" Dawn asked wide eyed looking at the little girl on the table.  
  
"That" Spike said pointing to the little girl, "Is Buffy. Now what did you all do?"  
  
Gasp could be heard from the three girls as they looked back and forth from Buffy to each other.  
  
"Oh boy" Willow said nervously.  
  
"I'll say" Anya added.  
  
Buffy was sitting on the table swinging her legs back and forth, looking at the girls as they stared at her. She reached over and put her hand in Spikes.  
  
"I wanna go home" she said looking up at him.  
  
"Sure thing bit. Just be a little while longer..okay." he said smiling down at her.  
  
She smiled up at him and held his hand tighter.  
  
Spike starred down at her and smiled. This little version of Buffy seemed to actually like him, unlike the grown up version who only liked to use him as her personal training dummy.   
  
"What are we going to do?" Dawn asked frantically at seeing her 'little sister'."  
  
"Don't worry Dawn, we'll find a way to reverse the spell." Willow said as she went to retrieve the spell book they had used.  
  
Spike felt Buffy tug on his hand and looked back down at her.  
  
"What is it pet?"  
  
Buffy motioned for him to come closer to her. Spike leaned down and Buffy whispered quietly in his ear.  
  
"I need to go to the potty."   
  
Spike's eyes went wide when he heard her. He straightened up and looked around frantically.  
  
"Ah, Dawn....she's needs to ...ah potty" he told Dawn looking a little worried.  
  
Dawn looked at him and grinned when she saw the look on his face.  
  
"I can take her" she told him as she stood up from her seat. "Come on Buffy, I can take you to the bathroom."  
  
Buffy looked at Spike her eyes wide. Spike saw the look of apprehension on her face.  
  
"It's okay..this is Dawn...she can take you"  
  
Buffy looked over at Dawn and then back at Spike.  
  
"You won't leave me..will you?" she asked him worriedly.  
  
"No, I'll be right here when you get back."  
  
"Okay" she said, still worried about going anywhere with this big girl.  
  
Spike picked her up and put her on her feet. He watched as Dawn grabbed her hand and lead her away to the bathroom. He smiled at her as she walked with Dawn, her head turned around as far as she could get it, never taking her eyes off of him.  
  
Spike sat down in one of the chairs when Buffy was out of sight and looked at Willow who had her nose buried in the spell book.  
  
"So, what you gonna do about this?" he asked her.  
  
"Find a reversal spell." Willow said looking up at him. *If there is one* she thought to herself and she went back to the book.  
  
"Well, she was asking about Joyce earlier...what you gonna tell her?" Spike asked looking almost sad at mentioning Joyce.  
  
Willow looked back up at him. "Oh...I don't know...we can't tell her the truth. It would break her little heart."  
  
"Yeah....not to mention, what she's gonna think about Dawn." Spike said getting irritated at what they had done.  
  
"Well, I'll think of something." Willow said as Dawn and Buffy came back into the room.   
  
Buffy smiled and ran back over to Spike and stood beside his chair. She pulled on his arm and motioned for him to come closer.  
  
"I like her...she's funny" Buffy whispered in his ear.   
  
"Yeah, she can be funny sometimes. Dawn's real nice. She'll take good care of you until we can find your mum. Okay?"  
  
"I guess we probably need to get her home...It's kinda late for her. She probably needs to be in bed soon." Dawn said looking at Willow.  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right. I can take this stuff home with us and look for a reversal spell there." Willow said as she looked up from the table.  
  
Spike stood up and took a couple steps away from the table, Buffy right on his heals.  
  
"Buffy...why don't you go home with Dawn here. She can take care of you until we find your mum." Spike told her.  
  
"Are you coming to?" Buffy asked him, looking scared.  
  
"Sorry pet...I don't think that would be a good idea."  
  
"Please...." she said almost begging, tears filling her eyes.  
  
Spike could have kissed her right there. She was so sweet. He never thought Buffy would 'want' him around.  
  
"Oh, now that's just to funny" Dawn said smiling.  
  
"What's that bit" Spike asked looking over at Dawn.  
  
"Well, grown up Buffy can't stand the site of you, and little Buffy don't want you out of hers." she said giggling.  
  
"What's this about Buffy?" Xander said as he walked in the door. "Spike, what are you doing here?" he asked when he saw him.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes at him. "Don't worry bout it whelp. Was just leaving."  
  
"Good. Can't say that I'll miss ya. Hey, who's the pint size" he asked when he saw Buffy.  
  
"That's Buffy." Dawn told him as he approached the table.  
  
"BUFFY!" Xander yelled. "What...How...When..." he stuttered looking at her.  
  
Buffy moved closer to Spike. She didn't like this loud man at all.  
  
"Uh, someone want to tell me what's going on?" Xander asked, looking more confused than usual.  
  
"Spell gone bad..Buffy's a little girl now" Dawn said.   
  
Xander looked at Buffy. "Well, she's a cute little thing, isn't she" he said smiling, taking a few steps closer to her.  
  
Buffy grabbed Spike's hand and moved in behind him a little and peaked around his arm at Xander.  
  
"Well, what's she doing with Spike?" Xander asked when he saw Buffy grab Spike's hand and hide behind him.  
  
"Well, seems she likes Spike" Dawn said with a giggle.  
  
Xander scrunched up his face and looked from Buffy to Spike. "Why" he asked, looking at them, disbelieving.  
  
"Don't know." Dawn said, giggling at the look on Xander's face.  
  
Xander moved a little closer to her and smiled. "Hey Buff....come here a minute. It's me, your ole pal Xander."  
  
Buffy stepped all the way behind Spike so she couldn't see him. She gripped Spike's hand harder until he turned his head to look at her.  
  
"It's all right, the whelps not gonna hurt ya." Spike told her.  
  
Xander looked at Spike and instantly took on the offensive. "Buffy doesn't like you Spike, I don't know what you did, but she wouldn't be hanging all over you if you hadn't."  
  
"Look whelp" Spike said getting mad at Xander's constant jabs at him, "I didn't do anything to her. I just found her in the training room. That's all. Ask the junior witches here, their the one's who did this."  
  
"Yeah, well...get away from her." Xander said as he came towards Buffy.  
  
Buffy screamed and started to cry when Xander came around behind Spike and grabbed her arm.  
  
"Hey, watch it" Spike said defensively. "Back off. She doesn't know who any of us are. Now stop scaring her." he said as he reached down and picked Buffy up. She put her head on his shoulder and cried.  
  
"I want my mommy" she cried loudly.  
  
"Shhh..it's okay pet. Don't cry. I want let anyone hurt you." he told her as he stroked her hair. "Let's get her home Dawn, before the whelp her does anymore damage." he said hatefully at Xander who was standing there, looking wide eyed at the scene before him.   
  
"You're not going with them!" Xander said glaring at Spike.  
  
"Xander, give it a rest." Willow finally said, irritated at hearing him argue and Buffy's crying. "She likes Spike, so let her be. She scared enough without you acting like a crazy person."  
  
Xander looked sheepishly at Willow. "Sorry Will" he said  
  
"Well, let's go bit..I'll walk you home" Spike said as he carried Buffy towards the door and waited for Dawn to follow. *What have I've gotten myself into* Spike asked himself as he and Dawn walked out of the store, to take Buffy home.  
  
  
TBC................. 


	3. Chapter Three

Spike followed Dawn into the Summer's home and headed up the steps. Buffy had fallen asleep on the way there. He still couldn't believe they had done this. Did they not learn anything?  
  
"Here" Dawn said as she turned the cover's down on Buffy's bed.  
  
Spike laid Buffy down and pulled the blanket up over her. He pushed her hair away from her face and smiled down at her.  
  
"Weird having her actually like you, huh?" Dawn asked when she noticed the smile on his face.  
  
"Yeah, I'll say. I'm sure she'll get over it soon though." he said with a chuckle.  
  
"You're probably right." Dawn told him as she turned to leave the room.  
  
"Well, guess I better be going." Spike said as he walked out of Buffy's room.  
  
"Ok...see you later Spike. " Dawn said as she watched him walk down the steps and out the front door.  
  
Dawn went back into Buffy's room and stared at her sister. She smiled thinking of how much fun it was going to be having her around. Hopefully Willow would find a way to change her back. *But not to soon* Dawn thought as she left the room to get ready for bed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning found Dawn, Willow and Buffy sitting in the Kitchen. Buffy was eating a bowl of cereal with Dawn as Willow was making her own breakfast.  
  
"Where's Spike at?" Buffy asked taking another bite of her breakfast.  
  
"Oh, he's at home Buffy." Dawn told her.  
  
"Is he coming back today?"  
  
"I don't know...why?" Dawn asked.  
  
"I like him...he makes me feel funny." Buffy said with a giggle.  
  
Dawn looked up at Willow, the same expression on her face as Willow's now held.  
  
"What do you mean Buffy?" Willow asked her, completely worried about her comment.  
  
Buffy looked up at her. "It tickles when he's there." she said taking another bite.  
  
"Tickles...How does it tickle?" Dawn asked looking confused.  
  
"Like someone's tickling me..right here." Buffy said pointing at the back of her neck.  
  
Willow smiled and looked at Dawn. "Slayer sense" she said quietly to Dawn.  
  
Dawn nodded her head at her when she realized what she meant.  
  
"When's my mommy coming to get me?"  
  
"Um, I'm not sure...but you can stay here with us until she get's back..okay?' Willow told her. She hated lying to her, but what was she going to say.  
  
"Can I watch cartoons?" Buffy asked after all her cereal was gone.  
  
"Sure..come on" Dawn told her as she helped her out of her chair.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What are we going to do with her?" Dawn asked Willow as she came back into the kitchen.  
  
"I have no idea Dawn. You have school everyday, and I've got classes to. I can stay with her some, but not everyday." Willow said as she sat down at the bar.  
  
"I guess we need to find her a baby-sitter." Dawn said taking a seat with Willow.  
  
"Yeah, I guess we have no choice for right now." Willow said. "I can watch her today, but what are we going to do tomorrow?"  
  
"Maybe Anya can look after her at the Magic Box"  
  
"No, Anya doesn't strike me as the kind of person with the patience with kids. Especially when she's trying to make money." Willow told Dawn with a smile.  
  
"Yeah, guess not."  
  
Willow and Dawn sat in the Kitchen quietly both trying to figure out what they were going to do.  
  
"Well, I need to get going." Dawn said as she stood up and grabbed her bookbag.  
  
"Yeah, ok. I guess I need to get up to. I really need to get Buffy a few things. She can't walk around in the shirt all the time."   
  
"Bye Will." Dawn said as she made her way into where Buffy was.  
  
"Bye Dawnie"  
  
~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~  
  
"Hey Buffy...I have to go to school. I'll be back later okay." Dawn told Buffy when she walked into the living room.  
  
Buffy looked up from her spot on the floor when Dawn came in. "Okay." she said and went back to watching her cartoons.  
  
Dawn smiled at her sister and before heading for the door. *that is so weird* Dawn said to herself with a big smile as she gave Buffy one more glance before shutting the door behind her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The gang was sitting in the Summer's living room going over every spell book they had trying to find a way to get Buffy back to normal. Willow had taken her shopping early that day and bought her a few clothes...and things to play with. No one could take their eyes off of her for to long, it was just so weird to see her like that.  
  
Buffy was on her knees at the coffee table coloring in her new coloring book Willow had bought her. She didn't seem to have a care in the world. They all wondered if she would remember any of this when it was all over.  
  
  
"Giles called and wanted to know why Buffy didn't come train today." Dawn said as she took a seat on the sofa.   
  
"Gods, he is so going to kill us when he finds out" Willow said, looking worried about the prospects of Buffy's watcher finding out his Slayer was now a five year old.  
  
"Well, we need to find a reversal spell and quick, so he don't" Anya said looking up from her book.  
  
"I know" Willow said as a knock was heard at the front door.  
  
"I'll get it" Dawn said as she jumped up from her seat.  
  
"Hey Spike" Dawn said as she opened the door.  
  
"Hey, nibblet. Just thought I'd come by and see if Buffy was back to her usual self today." Spike said as he walked in the door.  
  
"Nope, still the same" Dawn told him as she walked back to the living room.  
  
"Hey, Buffy...look whose here." Dawn said as she took her seat back on the sofa.  
  
Buffy looked up from her coloring book and smiled big when she saw Spike standing in the doorway. She got up and ran over to him  
  
"Hey Spike!" she yelled as she threw her arms around his legs and hugged him.  
  
"Hey pet" Spike said as he ruffled up her hair with his hand smiling. "Just thought I'd come see how you were."  
  
"Come look at what I got" Buffy said taking his hand and leading him over to the coffee table.  
  
"Well, those should keep you busy for a while" he said taking in the site of a stack of books and crayons laying on the table.  
  
"Come on..you can help me" Buffy said as she tried to pull Spike down on the floor with her.  
  
Spike smiled and sat on the floor with her. He knew the scoobies were watching him, but he didn't care. If this Buffy liked him, then he would take advantage of it while he could. Wouldn't be long before she would be back to her usual games of kick the Spike, so why not enjoy the change while it lasted.  
  
Buffy handed him a coloring book and opened it to the page she wanted him to color. She sat the crayons down so they both could reach them and smiled big at him before sitting her self back down.  
  
"Don't get comfortable Spike" Xander said hatefully, shooting daggers at him sitting on the floor with Buffy.  
  
Spike just looked up and didn't even respond to him. He would stay as long as Buffy wanted him to.  
  
"So pet, what'd you do today" Spike asked Buffy after rolling his eyes at Xander.  
  
"Willow took me shopping. She bought me a dress." Buffy told him. "It's purple" she said smiling leaning over towards him.  
  
"Is that right" Spike said looking at her.  
  
"Uh huh. And she got me these books to." Buffy said concentrating on her work.  
  
Willow watched as Buffy and Spike sat and talked. She couldn't believe how well they got along. Buffy actually enjoyed him being around. She hadn't stopped smiling since he came into the room.  
  
"Hey guy's, let's take this stuff into the Dining Room since Spike's here. He can watch her while we research." Willow said standing up and gathering up as many books as she could carry.  
  
"What..are you crazy. I'm not leaving her in here with him!" Xander protested. "It's hard to tell what he might do when we're not looking!"  
  
"Xander, he's not going to do anything, so come on." Willow said rolling his eyes at him.  
  
Spike looked up at Xander with a smirk. He knew the whelp was hating this and he loved watching him squirm.  
  
"Shut Up Spike" Xander yelled when he saw how he was looking at him. "The only reason you're here is because she doesn't know any better."  
  
Buffy stood up when all the shouting started, and marched over to where Xander was. "You're a meany. I don't like you" she said, and kicked Xander in the leg.  
  
"Awwww." Xander yelled as he held his throbbing leg. "Buffy, why'd you do that?" he asked her not believing she had done it.  
  
"Cause you're mean to Spike..and your a big poophead." She said with a huff as she went back over to Spike.  
  
"I'm a what?" Xander asked looking at her as she stood beside Spike, her arm wrapped around his shoulder.  
  
"A poophead" she said sticking her tongue out at him.   
  
"Now, come on pet, it's not nice to call people names." Spike told her, even though he agreed with her 100%.  
  
"Well, he's mean. I don't like him." Buffy said still standing there glaring at Xander.  
  
"Yeah well, even so, you shouldn't kick people. It's not nice." Spike told her as he put his arm around her waist and sat her back down.  
  
Willow had been watching the whole scene and had a big smile on her face.  
  
"Hey Spike...what you doing tomorrow...besides sleeping I mean." she asked him.  
  
"Sleeping. What else is there to do?" he answered her.  
  
"Well, I have classes from 11:00-2:00 and could use a baby-sitter if you're interested." she told him knowing he do it.  
  
Spike smiled up at her. He didn't think they would ever allow him to spend time with Buffy if they weren't right there.  
  
"Yeah, I could watch her. Wouldn't be a problem."  
  
"Good." Willow said, relieved the sitter problem was taken care of. "Don't even say it Xander" she said, giving him her resolve face as he looked at her wide eyed.  
  
"But...but" Xander stuttered.  
  
"Look, I have classes and so does Dawn, everyone else works. There's no one else to do it. She likes Spike so I don't see the problem. So drop it."  
  
Xander stared at Buffy and Spike as they sat there coloring, not paying attention to anything other than what they were doing. As much as he hated it, he knew Willow was right. Still didn't mean he had to agree with her.  
  
"Fine, whatever!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Bedtime was an eventful time at the Summer's residence. After Buffy's bath, which took almost 15 minutes to convince her that Spike couldn't help her with, she was in her pajama's and ready for bed.  
  
"I want Spike to tuck me in." Buffy said as Dawn was ready to take her upstairs after telling everyone good night.  
  
Dawn looked over at Spike who was sitting on the sofa watching Buffy. He smiled big when he heard her say she wanted him to tuck her in.   
  
"I don't mind Dawn" he said looking up at her.  
  
Dawn smiled and nodded her head at him as he stood up from the couch. Buffy grabbed his hand as they headed up the steps.  
  
Buffy and Spike walked into her room and she ran and tried to climb up but needed a little help.  
  
"Here you go pet." Spike said as he pulled the cover's up over her.   
  
Buffy laid her head down and smiled big as Spike sat down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"I'll be by tomorrow while Willow goes to school." he told her as she snuggled down in the blankets.  
  
"Okay. Can we color some more?" she asked him.  
  
"We can do whatever you want."  
  
"Okay." Buffy said as a big yawn escaped her mouth.  
  
Spike grinned at her and pushed her hair away from her face as she closed her eyes. He sat there and watched her and was about to stand up when she opened her eyes and pushed the covers back.   
  
She moved and stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him before giving him a small kiss on the cheek.   
  
"Night Spike" she said as she laid back down and he pulled the cover's back over her.  
  
"Night kitten" he said softly as he placed a kiss on her forehead.  
  
Buffy giggled at him. "I aint no kitten you silly" she said as she closed her eyes once again. "I'm a girl"  
  
Spike grinned at her and stood up. He walked to the door and looked back over at her. "Night Buffy" he whispered as he walked out and shut the door behind him with a big smile on his face.  
  
  
TBC............. 


	4. Chapter Four

Spike ran in the back door to the Summer's home, blanket smoking slightly. He had not been able to sleep much, as his mind constantly swirled around the thought's of Buffy.   
  
As much as he enjoyed her 'liking' him at the moment and as adorable as he thought she was...he wanted his Buffy back. He missed her. He was in love with the grown up version of the little girl who was slowly stealing his heart.   
  
"Hey Spike" Buffy squealed as he stepped in the living room. She was sitting on the couch watching TV.   
  
"Hey there pet. How are you today?"  
  
"I'm fine" she said as she climbed off the couch smiling. "Willow made me pancakes."  
  
"Did she now." Spike said as he sat in the arm chair.  
  
"Uh huh. She said if I ate all of them I could help her wash the dishes."  
  
Spike smiled at her as she leaned up against the chair he was sitting in.  
  
"Oh, hey Spike" Willow said as she walked in the living room. "I didn't hear you come in."  
  
"Haven't been here long."  
  
"Well, I guess I can go ahead and go since your here. I left you a note of the fridge..about lunch, naps, things like that."  
  
"Alright then. I think we'll be just fine." he said looking back over at Buffy.  
  
Willow smiled at Buffy. She was leaning on Spike's chair looking at him. She had the cutest grin on her face. Willow couldn't believe how much she liked Spike and wondered how he was going to take it when Buffy was back to normal and didn't want him around anymore. She felt almost sorry for him.  
  
"Buffy, I have to go to class now. You and Spike have fun, okay." Willow told her as she picked up her school bag.  
  
"Okay" Buffy said finally looking over at her.  
  
"I'll see you later then...Bye"  
  
"Bye Willow" Buffy said as she watched Willow open the door and leave.  
  
Spike looked at Buffy. He noticed she had on a purple sundress and assumed it was the one she had mentioned to him last night.  
  
"You look very pretty today Buffy. Did you get all dressed up for me?" he asked her smiling when she looked back over at him.  
  
Buffy's face lit up as her smile got bigger. "Uh huh...it's purple."  
  
"Yeah, that it is. So what you wanna do?"  
  
"We can color some more. Willow said I could put my pictures on the frigerator."  
  
"Well, let's go get those books then" Spike said as he stood up and went to get her coloring books.  
  
Spike and Buffy sat at the dinning room table coloring and talking. She really liked to talk. She told him how her mommy took her to the park and let her play in the sand. She liked playing outside, and it took alot of persuasion to get her to want to play inside today. Spike was sure the whole smoking bit would be to much trauma for her small mind. So after much discussion, he had finally convinced her to stay inside.  
  
Spike took Buffy's picture and walked her into the kitchen. She smiled brightly at him when he hung it on the refrigerator door. He found Willow's note and noticed she had left instructions on everything, from food, naps, emergency numbers, even potty trips..which he wasn't looking forward to. Hopefully she didn't need any help in that area, he thought. Buffy would surly stake him when she returned to normal if she ever found that out.  
  
Buffy was a ball of energy. They spent the morning coloring, playing hide and seek,  
and watching TV. She talked and laughed and Spike was getting exhausted just listening to her. He had never heard Buffy talk so much. She was always so reserved and quiet around him...well, unless she was pounding on him for info.  
  
"You bout ready for some lunch?" Spike asked her as they sat and watched some children's program that was starting to grate on his nerves.  
  
"Uh huh. Can I have peanut butter and jelly?" she asked him as he helped her down off the couch.  
  
"Yeah, I think I can manage that."he said as he led her into the kitchen.  
  
"Here, you sit here." he told her as he lifted her up onto the stool.  
  
Spike fixed her sandwich and got her a glass of milk and sat down beside her as she ate.   
  
"When's my mommy coming back?" she asked him, her words slurred due to the sticky peanut butter.  
  
"She'll be back soon" Spike lied to her. He felt sorry for her. She wanted her mum and there was no way to tell her the truth. He felt even worse having to lie to her.  
  
"I'm sure she's thinking about you and missing you." he told her as she continued to eat her lunch.  
  
"That big girl Dawn said I could stay with her as long as I wanted." she said smiling at him. "I like her..she plays with me. She has a sister. But she's not here. I saw her picture."  
  
"You saw a picture of Dawn's sister?" Spike asked wondering how Dawn got out of that one.  
  
"Uh huh...she's pretty. Dawn said when I growed up I would be pretty just like her."  
  
"Well, that you will. But just between you and me...I think your already as pretty as Dawn's sister." he said winking an eye at her.  
  
Buffy giggled at him as she finished up her sandwich. "I think your pretty to." she told him as he took her empty glass and plate to the sink.  
  
Spike couldn't hold back the grin that crossed his face. "Well, I think that's about the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me." Spike said as he helped her off the stool.  
  
"How's about we watch another one of those kids shows before we put you down for a nap?"  
  
"I don't need a nap...I'm a big girl" Buffy said sarcastically rolling her eyes at him.  
  
"Yeah, well even big girls need naps." he told her as they sat back down on the sofa.  
  
"Not me. I can go all day without a nap. Mommy let's me stay up sometimes and watch her soap propras with her."  
  
"Well, we'll see." Spike said smiling, knowing she would fight this nap thing. A crying Buffy wasn't something he wanted. He couldn't take her adult tears, and the little ones tore him up even more.  
  
Buffy had sat with her head resting on Spike's leg. He sat there running his finger's through her hair and watched as her eyes became heavier until they finally closed. He listened for her breathing to even out and picked her up when he knew she was good and asleep. He carried her to her room and laid her down. She shifted slightly and he thought she was going to wake back up, but she snuggled into the covers and was out.  
  
Spike busied himself with cleaning away all the coloring books and dishes until his sleep deprived body began to wear on him. He stretched out on the sofa to watch 'his' favorite soap opera until his eyes became so heavy he was having trouble keeping them open. It wasn't long before he was also taking his own afternoon nap.  
  
Buffy woke and looked around as she sat up. She climbed down from the bed and quietly made her way down the steps. She saw Spike laying on the couch and walked over to him. She stood there looking at him for a minute before climbing on the couch and laying down beside him....soon fast asleep once again.  
  
That's how Willow found them when she came home. She was struck with that 'aw' face at the scene. Buffy had her arm wrapped over Spike's waist and was making a slight snoring sound. It was so cute. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed her camera. She had to get a picture of this, if nothing more than to use it as blackmail in the future. After snapping the picture she walked back into the kitchen and put the camera away.  
  
Dawn was home before Spike and Buffy finally stirred from there sleep. Surprised to wake and find Buffy on the couch with him Spike smiled and gently shook her to wake her up.  
  
"Hey, wake up lil' bit. Can't sleep the whole day away."  
  
He glanced over at the clock and wondered where everyone was.   
  
"That's got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen" Dawn said from her spot in the door way.  
  
Spike's head shot up and looked at her, a sheepish grin on his face. "Well, I did put her in bed, she must've came down when I fell asleep." he said as he sat up.  
  
Buffy opened her eyes and sat up beside Spike. "I got scared" Buffy said as Dawn walked in the room.  
  
"Ah, did you have a bad dream?" Dawn asked her.  
  
"Uh huh...there was a monster chasing me." Buffy said with a shaky voice.  
  
"Well, it was just a dream....no monster's around here" Spike told her patting her on the head. *the lies keep on growing* he thought to himself.  
  
"Well, guess I'll be going then since your home" Spike said as he stood up from the couch.  
  
"Your leavin" Buffy said looking wide eyed at him.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be back..maybe tomorrow...is that okay?"  
  
Buffy looked up at him, her big green eyes pleading with him to stay. "Don't go...we can play some more....I'll be good....I promise.... Please."  
  
Spike's heart melted. He leaned down and hugged her, knowing this would all be over soon and he would miss it. He pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. "Sure thing pet, If you want me to stay, I will."  
  
Dawn's snicker's caught Spike's attention and he turned his head to look at her.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"I thought big Buffy had you whipped, but little Buffy has you wrapped around her little finger."  
  
"Well, what can I saw, always been hard to refuse her anything...especially now."  
  
"Yeah, I can see" Dawn said as she got up and left the two alone.  
  
"Well pet, what's say we grab those coloring books and you can make me a pretty picture."  
  
Buffy smiled and jumped off the couch. "Okay. Come on" she said grabbing his hand and dragging him back into the Dinning Room where they sat for hours coloring and enjoying each other's company.  
  
TBC...................... 


	5. Chapter Five

"No Buffy, now will you please go back to sleep?" Willow said as Buffy's constant crying was beginning to get on her nerves.  
  
"But why not?" Buffy cried and stuttered.  
  
"Because it's late. Now stop crying before you make yourself sick."  
  
Buffy had been crying for 35 minutes..NONE stop. Willow was ready to pull her hair out and Dawn was getting just as bad with her whining.  
  
"Geez, Will...just go so she'll shut up already." Dawn said, almost in tears herself. "I can't take this much longer."  
  
Willow looked back at Buffy. Her eyes were puffy and red. Big tears were running down her face. She was crying so hard she was gasping for air.  
  
"FINE!" Willow said as she stood up and threw her hands in the air and stomped out of the room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Willow slammed the door open to Spike's crypt, startling him as she did.  
  
"Bloody Hell Red! Give a guy some warning next time." Spike said as he jumped from his chair when she stormed in. "What in the world is wrong with you?"  
  
Willow let out a choked laugh/sob as she looked at him.  
  
"You have NO idea what I've been through Spike. You're lucky slamming the door is all I did." she said as she reached for his boots.  
  
"Put these on" she told him as she shoved his boots at him. Willow grabbed his duster and waited. He just stood there looking at her. "MOVE!" she yelled as she saw him just standing there looking at her.  
  
"Fine..calm down" Spike said when she yelled at him. He sat down and quickly put his boots on. "What's this about?" he asked her as he stood up and took his duster from here.  
  
"This is about Buffy and you promising her to keep the monster's away" she said over her shoulder as she exited the crypt.  
  
"Huh.." Spike said as he followed her out and shut the door.  
  
"She had another nightmare..monsters chasing her. She's been crying for half an hour." she snapped at him. "Do you know how irritating it is to listen to that high pitched noise for that long?"  
  
"And this has what exactly to do with me?" Spike asked as he followed her out of the cemetery.  
  
"You were the one who 'promised' to keep the monsters away and she won't go back to sleep until YOU come and chase them away..so come on!"  
  
Spike followed Willow quietly back to Buffy's wondering exactly 'what' he was suppose to do. Willow was stressing..BAD, he noticed and wasn't about to question it .  
  
As they approached the house Spike could hear her crying..well, sounded more like screaming to him, but he hadn't spent any time around kids...so he figured that's how they all sounded.  
  
Spike walked up the stairs and had the urge to cover his ears. *No wonder Red looks so frazzled he thought as he peaked his head in Buffy's room.  
  
Buffy was sitting on her bed, legs streghted out in front of her with her head almost laying in her lap. She had her hands covering her face and she was shaking from all the crying.  
  
"Hey now...what's all this?" Spike asked as he entered the room.  
  
Buffy's head shot up when she heard him..and only got louder as he approached the bed.  
  
"Buffy, stop crying pet and tell me what's wrong" Spike said as he sat down on the bed.  
  
"Theresamonsterschasingmeandtryingeatme" she yelled through her tears at Spike.  
  
Spike smiled at her and rubbed her head. "You're gonna have to stop crying Buffy..I can't understand you" he said calmly to her.  
  
Buffy cried for a few more minutes and slowly stopped, only leaving in a few whimpering cries.  
  
"Now that's better..tell me what happened."  
  
"There's a monster chasing me and gonna eat me" she said as her loud crying started up again.  
  
Spike smiled at her and sighed. "Come here pet" Spike said as he held his arms out to her.  
  
Buffy crawled over to him and sat on his lap as she buried her head in his chest. She cried harder as he rubbed her back.  
  
"Shhh..now stop crying. There aren't any monsters here." he whispered softly to her.  
  
Willow was standing at the door and watched the whole scene. Buffy wasn't crying as loud now, but still whimpering and hiccuping. She couldn't believe how gentle Spike was with her. She had seen how protective he was with Dawn...but this was something completely different.  
  
Buffy's cries had died down to almost nothing as Spike picked her up and put her back in bed. He sat down on the side of the bed as she looked up at him.  
  
"Don't leave me. He'll get me" Buffy said whining.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay all night if I have to. Now just close your eyes and go back to sleep." Spike told her as he pulled the blankets back over her.  
  
Buffy shut her eyes but opened them ever so often to make sure he was still there. Spike sat on the bed with her until she fell back asleep and then moved to the chair by her desk. Willow smiled and said 'goodnight' as Spike sat and watched Buffy sleep.   
  
As he felt the sun approaching, he quietly made his way out and headed back home.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next evening Spike was walking as fast as he could towards Buffy's. He had thought alot about what had happened with Buffy and her nightmares and wondered if the 'monsters' were actual demons she had fought that she was seeing.   
  
As much as he enjoyed 'little Buffy' he knew she needed to be returned to normal. If anyone knew how to do that...that would be the watcher.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Spike knocked on the door and let himself in. It was unusually quiet he noticed as he walked in and headed for the living room.   
  
"Hello?" he asked when finding no one there. He walked towards the kitchen where he found Dawn, Willow and Buffy sitting at the bar. Willow had her nose buried in a book as Dawn and Buffy were decorating cookies.   
  
"Hey" Spike said as he walked in.  
  
All three looked up as he spoke. "Hey Spike" Buffy said happily as she saw him.  
  
"Hey there Buffy."  
  
"Look what I done" she said as she held up the cookie she was icing.  
  
"That's nice" Spike said smiling as he walked towards her. "Never seen a purple gingerbread man before."  
  
Buffy just shrugged her shoulder at him before she continued painting the little cookie man.  
  
"Yeah, look at this one" Dawn said with a giggle.  
  
Spike grinned Big as he took in the site of a messy little cookie man..cover in black icing..with white hair no less.  
  
"Is that suppose to be me?" he asked Buffy as he stood beside her at the bar.  
  
Buffy glanced up at him and then over at the cookie Dawn was holding and smiled big. "Uh huh" she said. "But you can't eat him."  
  
"Why's that?" Spike asked her.  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. "Cause..you silly. It'll hurt."  
  
"Hurt who?" Spike asked with a chuckle.  
  
"The cookie man" Buffy said as she globbed more purple icing on her cookie.  
  
"I don't think It'll hurt the cookie man if you eat it."   
  
"Don't even try Spike..we already had this dicussion." Dawn said with a grin. "She said no one can eat the 'cookie men'."  
  
Spike just laughed lightly as he watched them then turned his attention to Willow.  
  
"Hey Red..come here, need to talk to you"  
  
Willow looked up and watched Spike walk out of the room. She got up and followed him out into the Dining Room.   
  
"What's up?" she asked as she saw him sit down.  
  
Spike sighed and looked at her before he spoke. "You need to call the watcher."  
  
He almost laughed at the face Willow made. If her face froze like that...he felt sorry for anyone who came into contact with her.  
  
"Are you crazy!" Willow yelled. "Giles would kill us..literally!"  
  
"Yeah, well what do you think Buffy's gonna do when you bring her back from munchkin land."  
  
"We don't even know if she'll remember any of this."  
  
"Maybe not, but you're not getting anywhere with the books. Giles is your only option."  
  
"Spike, you know Giles...he'll flip out." Willow said looking scared.  
  
"So...you have to do something. You can't just leave her like that."  
  
"I know..we just need more time."  
  
"Well, you better hurry or I'll tell him myself" Spike said getting angry at the whole situation. "It's been 4 days. How long you plan on keeping her like that before you decide to put her needs before your own." he said as he stood up from his chair.  
  
Buffy walked into the Dining Room and walked over to Spike. "You wanna watch TV with me?" she asked him.  
  
Spike looked down at her and smiled. "Sure thing pet..let's go" he said as she grabbed his hand and led him into the Living Room.  
  
Willow watched them leave and knew Spike was right. They had to tell Giles..eventually. *Ugh..but not yet* she thought with a shutter as she imagined what his reaction would be.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Buffy was sitting on Spike's lap in the arm chair watching a cartoon as the front door came open.  
  
"Buffy" Giles said as he came inside.  
  
Buffy turned her head at the sound of her name. "Huh" she said as she looked at him.  
  
Willow came running into the hall when she heard him. "GILES. What are you doing here!" she said excitedly.  
  
"Where is Buffy Willow. I haven't heard from here in 4 days. Now I'm not sure what is wrong with her but I am her watcher and I have a right to know."  
  
Willow looked worriedly from Giles to Buffy and back again, rocking from one foot to the next.  
  
"Willow...where is Buffy"  
  
"Here I am" Buffy said as she looked at Giles.  
  
Giles turned his head and saw Spike holding a little girl. He smiled at her before looking back over at Willow.  
  
"So, where is she?" he asked again.  
  
Willow gave him a pained smile and slowly pointed into the Living Room where Buffy was sitting. "There" she said softly looking down at her feet.  
  
Giles looked back over in the living room and peaked his head inside. "Buffy" he said as he slowly walked into the room.  
  
"Where Willow..she's not in here"  
  
"Um...well...uh..."  
  
"Who are you?" Buffy asked as she turned in Spike's lap. Spike almost tried to cover for Willow, but knew the watcher could figure this out, so he kept quiet. Besides the look on Giles' face was going to be priceless.  
  
Giles looked at the little girl and smiled. "Hello..my name is Rupert.. and you are?" he asked as he walked closer to the chair. "Spike" he said with a nod, acknowledging he was there.  
  
"That's a funny name" Buffy said with a small giggle.   
  
"Yes, well I suppose it is different."  
  
Giles straightened up and looked at Willow. "You is that?" he asked her quietly.  
  
"My name's Buffy" she said with a bright smile.  
  
Giles slowly turned his head back around and looked at Buffy. He looked her straight in the eye before glancing up at Spike who was smirking at him shaking his head 'yes'.   
  
Looking back at Willow he could see the scared looked on her face then turned back to Buffy.  
  
"Buffy?" he choked out hoarsely.  
  
"Uh huh" Buffy said watching him.  
  
"Dear Lord!" Giles said before head hit the floor....out cold.  
  
TBC...................... 


	6. Chapter Six

Giles sat on the sofa holding a wet towel to the bump on his head, never taking his eyes off of Buffy. He still had yet to say a word. He would try....but only managed to sputter a few words, before shaking his head and becoming silent again.  
  
Willow was in the corner, looking like a scared 2 yr. old, fearing what he was going to say when he finally got his tongue to work again.  
  
Buffy just sat quietly on Spike's lap glancing over at Giles every so often as he watched her. She had started to get wiggly the longer he stared and turned so she couldn't see him before glancing up at Spike.  
  
"That man's staring at me" she whispered.  
  
"It's okay, he won't hurt you" Spike told her as she laid her head down on his chest.  
  
"Watcher, if your not going to talk to her, then stop staring...you're freakin her out."  
  
Giles gave Spike a hard look before looking down at Buffy. "Uh..sorry" he managed to say.  
  
Sitting up straight in his seat, Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them before standing.  
  
"Well, I guess someone has an explanation for all of this?" he said as Anya and Xander walked in the door. Giles turned to look at them and was met with the same expression on their faces as Willow had on hers.  
  
"Giles!..G-man..look at you. All here and everything." Xander said quickly and nervously. "What brings you by?" he added just as quickly.  
  
Giles gave him a hard look before glancing at everyone in the room frustrated. "How long has she been like this?" Giles asked getting angry at the situation as Xander and Anya were slowly backing up towards the door.  
  
"WELL!" he yelled when no one answered.  
  
Buffy jumped when he yelled and hung on to Spike's shirt. Spike rubbed his hand up and down her back trying to reassure her everything was okay before looking over at a very red faced Giles.  
  
"Calm down Watcher, you're scaring her." Spike said as he glared at Giles.  
  
"Oh, Be Quiet Spike! Why are you even here? This has nothing to do with you! Go home!" Giles spat out, still yelling.  
  
Buffy flipped her head around and stared at Giles as he yelled at Spike. Xander saw the look in her eye and decided Giles might be heading in a dangerous direction where Spike was concerned.  
  
"Yo, Giles...you might not want to be yelling at the evil dead there..unless you have your shin guards on...trust me" Xander told him as he remembered the kick Buffy had given him for doing the same.  
  
Giles turned and looked at Xander, then returned his angry glares back at Spike.  
  
"Would someone like to explain to me what is going on!" Giles said, "And why Buffy's hanging all over Spike!"  
  
"Well, see it's like this..." Spike started before Giles cut him off.  
  
"Spike, I don't care to hear anything you have to say, unless "you' are the one responsible for this!  
  
"I didn't do this, they did" Spike told Giles, pointing at Willow and Anya.  
  
All the yelling had became to much for Buffy and she was soon crying...loudly!  
  
"Shh..it's okay pet" Spike told her softly before glaring up at Giles. "Stop yelling." he told him firmly.  
  
Giles almost bit his tongue off he was so mad. His face was bright red and he had the urge to rip someone's head off. He stood there taking a few deep breath's and looked at Buffy before walking back over to the couch and sat down.   
  
"Would someone please tell me what happened" he asked as calmly as he could...which wasn't much.  
  
Willow walked over to the sofa and sat as far away from Giles as she could. She looked at him nervously before glancing at the others in the room. Clearing her throat she decided to get this over with.  
  
"Well...it's umm, kinda like this..."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Giles sat staring at Buffy after Willow explained what had happened and he had finished screaming and yelling at them more for being so stupid and careless. Buffy had stopped crying and was nervously glancing at him every so often. He still couldn't grasp the concept that this little girl was actually Buffy...his slayer.  
  
"My mommy says it's rude to stare." Buffy told Giles as he watched her.  
  
Giles focused his attention fully on her as she spoke.  
  
"Oh. Yes. You're absolutely right. I'm terribly sorry" he told her with a smile. "Buffy..do you remember who I am?" he asked.  
  
Buffy looked at him hard before answering. "No"  
  
Giles looked over at Willow before turning back to Buffy. "Do you know where you are?"  
  
"I'm waiting for my mommy to come get me." Buffy told him as she turned in Spike's lap so she could see Giles better.  
  
Giles' eyed widened at Buffy's comment. She still thought her mother was alive. His anger for what they had done came flooding back. Gritting his teeth he smiled at Buffy before continuing his questions.  
  
"Yes, well...I'm sure we'll find her soon." he said, not really sure of how to address the 'mommy' issue.  
  
Buffy smiled at him. "Yeah..Spike's gonna find her for me." she said smiling. "He keeps the monster's away" she added whispering lightly.  
  
Giles glanced up at Spike before returning his attention back to Buffy. "Does he now. Do you see monster's alot?' he asked, wondering what she had meant.  
  
"Yeah...when I sleep they chase me, but Spike scares them away." she told him smiling.  
  
Giles smiled at her. She was so sweet he was having a hard time being mad. "Well, that's very nice of Spike." Giles told her, still smiling.  
  
"Uh huh...Spike's nice. He colors with me..but he uses the wrong hand when he does it." she said rolling her eyes slightly.  
  
Giles grinned at her and looked up at Spike. "I'm left handed." Spike told Giles smiling.  
  
"Oh..I see" Giles said amused at her comment. "So...you like Spike being around?" he asked wondering about the whole Buffy/Spike situation. He knew Buffy would never spend time with Spike..let alone want him around.  
  
"Yeah....we watch cartoons and he comes to play with me when Willow and that big girl Dawn have to leave."  
  
Giles had to smile as Buffy's face lit up talking about Spike. He wondered if she would remember any of this when the spell was broken. For her sake..he hoped she didn't.   
  
Buffy got down off Spike's lap and walked over to where Giles was sitting. "You want to see my picture's? Spike put em on the frigadator." she asked him smiling.  
  
"I'd love to see your picture's" Giles said smiling as he stood up to follow Buffy.  
  
Buffy glared at Xander as they walked by and she stuck her tongue out at him. Giles saw what she had done and cocked his head to the side as he walked along behind her.   
  
"Do you not like Xander?' he asked her as they stepped into the kitchen.  
  
"No..he's mean to Spike. He's a poophead" she said softly, "but Spike told me not to call him that."  
  
"Yes, well..it's not very nice to call people names."  
  
"That's what Spike said..but that mean guy calls Spike names all the time." she told him as she pointed at her pictures.  
  
Giles looked at the drawings and smiled. Most of the pictures were colored with all purple crayons...except for a few that Spike had obviously done.  
  
"Those are very nice Buffy." Giles told her as he looked down at her. She was smiling brightly at him as she looked back over to her pictures.   
  
"Well, why don't we go back in with the other's and see if we can figure out what we need to do to find...your mother." he said, not really sure how to address her situation. He smiled as she took his hand and led him back into the living room.  
  
"Well, let's get those spell books out and find a way to change her back" Giles said as they reentered the living room. Giles watched as Buffy climbed back up on Spike's lap and returned her attention back to the cartoon they had been watching. He smiled as he saw how happy she seemed. It had been to long since she smiled about anything. As upset as he was about her being like this, he couldn't help but be glad she could escape her troubles for a little while...well, he 'hoped' it would just a little while. Sighing heavily, he grabbed a spell book and started his search to bring Buffy back.  
  
TBC........................ 


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I wasn't sure where I wanted to take this as I had planned on it being through by now, but your wonderful reviews have inspired me to continue. Glad everyone's enjoying this. It's only my second attempt at fanfic, so please keep reviewing as my head keeps on a swellin'.....Zarrah :0)  
  
  
Research was going extremely slow as the occupants of the Summer's home had a hard time concentrating. Giles couldn't take his eyes off Buffy. He was still trying to get over the shock of seeing her as a little girl. Buffy's fondness to Spike was his only real concern at the moment.  
  
Giles watched as Buffy and Spike sat and colored. He had never seen her smile so much. She was truly happy at the moment. He almost hated taking this away from her.  
  
"Buffy...it's almost time for bed. We need to get you in the bathtub." Dawn said as she walked into the Living Room.  
  
Buffy looked up at Dawn when she spoke to her."Okay, I'm almost done." she said looking back down at what she was doing.  
  
Buffy finished her picture and helped Spike put the crayons away before she stood up. "Spike you not gonna leave are ya?" she asked him as he stacked up the books.  
  
"No, I'll stay for a while if you want me to." Spike told her.  
  
"Even when I sleep?"  
  
"Yeah, even when you sleep." he said smiling at her.  
  
Buffy smiled brightly at him and hugged his neck before running towards the steps where Dawn was waiting. "I'll be right back" she said excitedly, turning back to Spike before going up the steps.  
  
Spike chuckled at her as he stood and picked up the books and crayons and returned them to the box Willow had Buffy's 'toys' in. He smiled as he looked at the dolls that were there as he placed the books inside. As he turned around, he saw Giles staring at him and sighed heavily as he walked to the arm chair and sat down.  
  
"Alright Watcher, out with it." he said as he looked over at Giles.  
  
Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them before looking back up at Spike. "Well, I was just curious as to how you were going to handle all this when Buffy is back to normal. You do know there is a very good possibility that she will not remember any of this."  
  
"I know"  
  
"Yes well....I know you're feelings for Buffy and all this attention she is showing you....well, I hope you know it has absolutely nothing to do with Buffy's true feeling where you are concerned."  
  
Spike leaned his head over to the side and looked at Giles. He could sense that Giles didn't actually believe his own theory. He smiled thinking maybe Buffy actually 'did' like him in some way. He hoped Buffy remembered every detail of her 'little adventure' and would finally see he wasn't the heartless monster she thought he was.  
  
"You don't know that Rupert. You actually think she'd tell the lot of you how she really felt about me?"  
  
"Yes, I think she would and has. It's not healthy to hang on to the delusions that she will ever return your feelings, that is if they are in fact real. I'm still not so sure that they are." Giles said.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes and shook his head. "You bleedin Watcher's think you know so much. You haven't a clue to what vampires really are. We feel emotions just the same as you do."  
  
"Yes, well that's never been confirmed."  
  
"HELLO! Vampire here. I know what I feel. Those soddin journals of yours are filled with lies and misinformation." Spike said loudly as he was starting to get irritated.  
  
Giles just sat there looking at Spike. He knew Spike did show the capacity to show emotions, but Love? That was one he was sure a demon could not posses."  
  
Buffy bounced back down the steps in her pajama's, ready for bed. She smiled as she entered the Living Room and walked over to Spike. "I'm back!" she squealed as she stood beside his chair.  
  
"That you are. You ready for bed now?" Spike asked her.  
  
"Uh huh" Buffy said smiling.  
  
"Alright then, tell everyone goodnight."  
  
Buffy turned and said goodnight and grabbed Spike's hand as he stood. They were almost to the steps when Giles stopped them.  
  
"Buffy, umm I'm not sure it's such a good idea to have Spike stay in your room at night with you." he said as he stood up from the couch and approached them.  
  
Buffy gripped Spike's hand tighter and stepped closer to him as Giles approached.  
  
"Why don't you let Dawn or Willow sit with you?" Giles asked as he leaned down to be eye level with her.  
  
"No" Buffy said whining a little. "Spike keeps the monster's away."  
  
"Yes well, I'm sure Dawn can do the same."  
  
"No she can't. She's not strong enough." Buffy told him as he straightened up.  
  
Giles sighed as he looked down at her. "Well, what if I came up with you or Xander?"  
  
Buffy shook her head no at him. "You're to old to chase monsters and I don't want that mean guy up there." she said glancing up nervously at Spike.  
  
"I'm not to old Buffy. I can sit and watch as well as Spike can."  
  
"But you can't fight them like Spike does."  
  
"And exactly when was the last time Spike has had to fight the monster's?" Giles asked getting irritated at the situation.  
  
"He always does. Everytime they come." she said putting on hand on her hip. "He put's on his mean face and kills them!"  
  
Spike and Giles both looked down at her before looking at each other wide eyed.  
  
"What do you mean.....he puts on his mean face?" Giles asked.  
  
Buffy shook her head and sighed. "His mean face. With his big teeth and yellow eyes. He growls at he monsters and then he kills them."  
  
Giles looked at Spike. "You didn't tell her...about..." he asked as he motioned towards his face with his finger.  
  
"Well no" Spike said shaking his head. "I'm not stupid you know."  
  
"Then how?....Buffy does Spike's mean face scare you?"  
  
"No" she said looking at Giles then up at Spike.  
  
"Have you ever seen anyone else with the 'mean' face?" Giles asked her.  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"When?" Giles asked, in full Watcher mood, trying to figure out what she was talking about.  
  
"In my dreams. But they're all mean guy's. Spike hits 'em and they fall like dirt." Buffy said with a yawn.  
  
"I see.." Giles said. "Well, you go on up to bed Buffy. I guess it will be alright for Spike to sit with you for a little while." Giles said before turning and going back to the Living Room.  
  
Buffy and Spike walked up the stairs as Giles sat heavily on the couch. He turned to Willow and looked at her before speaking. "Do you suppose she is having dream's of actual fights Spike has helped her with?"  
  
"It's possible." Willow said, having heard the whole conversation. "I mean, it sounds like she was talking about Spike's grrr face. She would have to had dreamed that. We haven't mentioned that Spike's a vampire. I'm not even sure she knows what a vampire is."  
  
"Most interesting." Giles stated as he started cleaning his glasses..again. "This may explain her bond with Spike now. If she feels safe with him..."  
  
"Hey, I just remembered!" Willow said smiling as she interrupted him. "When we first brought her home, after her turning little she said Spike made her feel funny. Like someone was tickling her on the neck whenever he was around."  
  
"Amazing" Giles said looking astonished. "Her slayer senses must still be in tact." he added before getting a far off look on his face.  
  
"Yeah or some at least." Willow said. "Oh, I wonder if she has any fighting skills or strength?" she asked smiling.  
  
Giles looked over at her and smiled. "It would be most interesting to find out. I'll take her to the shop tomorrow and see what she can do." he said, looking thoroughly pleased at having a four year old Slayer.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Spike pulled the cover's up over Buffy and kissed her forehead as she looked up at him smiling.  
  
"Buffy....am I always in your dreams?" Spike asked her curious about what she had told them.  
  
"Yeah, most of the times."  
  
"Are you in them?"  
  
"Uh huh, but I'm a big girl. I fight the monsters to." she said smiling. "We kill them together sometimes."  
  
"I see." Spike said knowing for sure she was definitely dreaming of their past battles.  
  
Spike looked at her and leaned his head sideways when he noticed the frown that now covered her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked her.  
  
Spike watched as Buffy's eyes filled up with tears before she spoke.  
  
"Sometimes..I'm mean to you in my dreams." she said as a tear fell down her face. "I don't mean to be, but I am. And sometimes I hit you to."  
  
Spike looked at her and smiled weakly as he reached up and brushed her tears away as they fell. "It's alright pet. I don't mind." he told her softly as she looked at him.  
  
"You're not mad?" she asked him, looking a little scared he would be.  
  
"No, I know you don't really mean to." Spike answered her smiling.  
  
"I'm sorry Spike. I don't mean it. Don't leave me. I'll be good." Buffy cried as she sat up and hugged him.  
  
"Shhhh...It's okay Buffy. Don't cry. I'm not ever gonna leave you." Spike said as he hugged her back. "I could never be mad at you." he added as he ran his hand down the back of her head.  
  
Buffy cried softly for a few minutes and sniffled a few times as she stopped before looking up at Spike. She smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek.  
  
Spike smiled when she pulled away from him.  
  
"Night Spike" Buffy said sleepily. "love you" she added as she laid down and closed her eyes.  
  
Spike stared at her as he felt his eyes stinging with his own tears, shocked at her words. "I love you to Buffy" he choked out softly. He was so overcome with emotion as he replayed her whispered 'love you' over in his mind he could barely speak. He smiled, knowing that this 'Little Buffy' had meant it. *If only the 'real' you could see me the way you do know* he thought as he watched her sleep. He wiped his tears away and smiled big. *Someday... you will*  
  
  
TBC........................... 


	8. Chapter Eight

Willow walked into the Magic Box, Buffy in tow, ready to see if she had retained any of her Slayer skills. Giles smiled as he saw her.  
  
"Good morning Buffy." he said as she walked over to the table.  
  
"Hey" she said smiling at him.  
  
"How are you today?" Giles asked as Buffy tried to get up in one of the chairs at the table.  
  
"I'm fine. Willow made me pancakes." Buffy said grinning at him as Willow helped her sit down.  
  
"Did she. Well that was very nice of her."  
  
"Uh huh. I got to help wash the dishes to."  
  
Giles smiled at her. She was so adorable. She smiled about everything. He was happy just being able to see her happy.  
  
"I've got some fun things for us to try today...would you like to go see?"  
  
"Maybe later...Spike's pose to play with me today. Maybe I can play with you tomorrow." Buffy told him, as she looked up at him.  
  
Giles looked over at Willow who was grinning at him and shrugged her shoulders at him. "Spike told her he would see her today." she told him quietly.  
  
"Oh, I see...Well, what if I just show you what I have until Spike gets here. Would that be okay?" Giles asked Buffy as he looked back down at her.  
  
Buffy scrunched up her face, thinking about what he had said before answering. "I guess we can." she said before sliding down from her chair.  
  
"Willow, I think I may have found something in that text about the original spell. If you could cross reference it for me while I'm in the back?" Giles asked before turning to the training room.  
  
"Sure...I can do that."  
  
Giles walked with Buffy to the training room and ushered her in. Once inside Buffy looked around and frowned. Giles caught the look and leaned his head to the side.  
  
"Is something wrong Buffy?" he asked her as she stopped in the middle of the room.  
  
"This is where I lost my mommy." she said sadly.   
  
Giles looked saddened by her statement. He immediately felt angry again for what the others had done. He smiled at her and got down on one knee if front of her.  
  
"It's okay Buffy. We're doing everything we can to find her" he said, mentally slapping himself for having to lie to her.  
  
Buffy looked at him with watery eyes. "What if you can't find her."  
  
"We will...I promise."  
  
Buffy smiled weakly at him and wiped at her eyes. "Okay. Can we play now?'  
  
Giles laughed lightly at her and shook his head. "Yes, we can play now." he said as he stood back up.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Willow had been checking the spell books and listening to the sounds coming from the training room for a while and was beginning to wonder how long Giles was going to keep at his 'testing' of Buffy's skills. They had been in there for over an hour and she was sure Buffy was getting bored with him by now. Looking up as the door to the shop opened, she smiled as Xander walked in.  
  
"Hey Xan...what are you doing here?" she asked him smiling.  
  
"Oh, just thought I'd come see how our little Buff was doing." he answered her as he sat down.  
  
"Giles is putting her through 'training' as we speak" she said giving him a lopsided grin.  
  
"Ah, the ever faithful Slayer training. Giles is probably loving this. He can finally make Buffy listen." he laughed. "Well, in theory that is."  
  
"Yeah, she can still be pretty stubborn when she wants to be."  
  
"Who's that?" Spike asked as he shut the door to the basement.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Xander asked him hatefully.  
  
"Now now whelp...best be on your best behavior. Wouldn't want out little Slayer to check out your knee caps again." Spike said smirking at Xander.  
  
"Shut up Spike!"  
  
Spike laughed at him before looking over at Willow. "Buffy in the back?" he asked pointing to the training room.  
  
"Yeah, Giles has had her in there for a while."  
  
"Right then" Spike said as he headed for the training room.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Xander asked him as he stood up from his chair.  
  
Spike turned his head slightly. "Going to see Buffy" he said over his shoulder as he continued walking.  
  
"Well, she don't want to see you, so stay away from her." Xander yelled out to him.  
  
"Is that a fact?" Spike said as he stopped and turned around to face him. "Doesn't seem that way to me"  
  
Xander glared at Spike, hating the fact that he knew Buffy 'did' want to see Spike. The fact that she 'didn't' like him was eating him up. He rolled his eyes at Spike before returning to his seat. Spike just grinned at him and turned around, still smiling and entered the training room.  
  
"Now Buffy...just do it exactly like I said." Giles told her, exhausted at his attempts to get her to cooperate with him.  
  
"No. I don't want to." she said as she crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"What's the matter kitten, Rupert boring you already?" Spike asked as he walked into the room.  
  
Buffy spun around at the sound of his voice and grinned big. "Hey Spike!' she yelled as she ran over to where he was.  
  
"Hey Buffy." Spike said as she wrapped her arms around his legs. "You havin fun with the watcher?" he asked as he squatted down next to her after she let him go.  
  
"No" Buffy whispered to him, glancing over at Giles briefly. "He plays stupid games. All he wants me to do is hit stuff."  
  
Spike laughed at her and looked up at Giles. "Well, he is kinda old. All his games are gonna be dull, just like him" Spike whispered back to her, getting a big giggle out of her.  
  
"I heard that Spike!" Giles said as he stood up from the floor. "Please don't put such notions in her head. She's very impressionable at this age."  
  
Spike straightened up and grinned at Giles. "What can I say Watcher..I just call em like I see em."  
  
"Why are you here?" Giles asked, sighing heavily as he rubbed his forehead.  
  
"I had a play date with the nibblet here." Spike said, patting her on the head.  
  
"Well, play time can come later, I have important things to do here, as you can see."  
  
"Yeah, and what's that..boring her to death. Real impressive." Spike said smirking at him.  
  
Giles removed his glasses and rubbed at his eyes before replacing them and looking at Buffy. She was standing there, looking up at Spike with the cutest smile he had ever seen on her face. He smiled in spite of himself and shook his head.  
  
"Fine..play, she obviously has no desire to train. I can try to do this later." Giles said as he walked towards the door.  
  
Spike tried to hold back his grin as Giles walked past him, but failed miserably. The fact that Buffy would rather spend her time with him rather than the rest of them, made him happier than any vampire should be.   
  
He looked down at her as Giles shut the door and smiled at her. "So, what ya wanna do pet?" he asked her as she stood there smiling at him.  
  
"There's nothin to do here." she said looking around the room.  
  
"Well, you have a point there." Spike told her.   
  
"Can we go outside?" Buffy asked, looking back up at him.  
  
"Don't think that'd be a good idea."  
  
"Why not? It's fun outside. We could go to the park." she told him smiling.  
  
Spike smiled back at her. "Yeah, that would be fun...but, I can't go outside Buffy. Not in the sun." he told her sadly.  
  
Buffy looked at him quizzical. "Why not...you not like the shunshine?"  
  
"Yeah, I do actually." Spike said before he led her over to the couch and sat down. "It's just, I have an allergy to the sun." he told her...*she's not gonna buy that one* he thought as she stood in front of him and looked at him.  
  
"My friend's got allergies to. She sneezes when she plays with purple." Buffy said grinning a little.  
  
"So, it's okay if we don't go outside then?"   
  
"Yeah, I guess so...do you sneeze when you go outside?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yeah, something like that" Spike said smiling at her.  
  
Buffy walked closer to Spike and put her hands on both sides of his face. She looked him straight in the eyes and Spike grinned at her when she moved her head closer to his.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked her, chuckling softly.  
  
"You have eyes like my kitty."  
  
"I do?"  
  
"Uh huh...His eyes are blue to." she said as she leaned back a little to look at him.  
  
Spike smiled at her as she let go of his face. "How's about we go see if there's something out front we can do?" he asked as he stood up from the couch.  
  
"Okay" Buffy said as she grabbed his hand and they started for the door.  
  
  
"We Found It!" Willow yelled as she burst through the training room door smiling big. "We found the spell! We found a way to bring her back!"  
  
  
TBC................. 


	9. Chapter Nine

Spike froze as he heard Willow. He saw the beaming smile on her face and smiled, although he knew this was the end. No longer would he be a part of Buffy's life. No longer would she want him around.   
  
He looked down at her. She was smiling at him. He smiled back at her and felt a wave of loneliness hit him, one that he knew all to well. One that had left for a short time. Soon, it would know him again.  
  
Grabbing Buffy's hand a little tighter, he slowly made his way out into the shop, to be greeted with happy smiling faces.  
  
Everyone turned to look at Buffy, smiles on their faces, knowing they would have their friend back soon.  
  
'So, you found the spell then?" Spike asked the group, trying to smile unsuccessfully.  
  
"Yeah, we just need to find all the components." Willow told him, as she continued looking through the spell book.  
  
"How long...till you change her back?"  
  
"What's wrong Spike...getting scared? I told you this would all be over soon." Xander said chuckling as Spike and Buffy glared at him. "What are you gonna do when it's back to business as usual and she can't stand the site of you?"  
  
Spike clenched his jaw tightly. He had taken enough jabs from the whelp to last him two lifetimes. He rolled his eyes at him, holding back a few choice words and turned his attention back to Willow.  
  
Willow smiled at Spike, knowing what he was feeling. She knew how much he enjoyed being around and felt bad for him. "Probably just another day or so. Depends on how long it takes to get all the ingredients for the spell ready."  
  
"I see." Spike said nodding his head at her.  
  
"Can we play now?" Buffy asked looking up at Spike.  
  
"Sure thing pet." Spike said smiling back down at her. "Let's go see what we can find."  
  
Xander glared at Spike as he sat with Buffy at the counter and helped her draw. He grinned to himself knowing he'd enjoy watching Spike get left out in the cold after Buffy got back to normal.  
  
"Xander, stop doing that." Willow told him softly, as she watched him glare dagger's at Spike. "Just leave him alone."  
  
"What...I wasn't doing anything."  
  
Willow sighed and rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be so mean all the time. He's helped out alot since all this happened."  
  
"So, don't like the guy. Hasn't ever been a secret. No reason to act all chummy to him now just because Buffy's to young to know any better."  
  
Willow rolled her eyes again and went back to her book. *This is gonna be fun* she thought to herself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Everyone was gathered in the Summer's living room, discussing the particular's of the spell. Everyone seemed happy about the transformation taking place, although a few had there own selfish reason's for wanting to keep her little.  
  
"But why can't we just leave her for a little while longer?" Dawn asked whining. "I mean, she's not hurting anything and it's nice to have her around all the time."  
  
"Dawn, you know we can't do that. She would want to be herself. Hard to tell what she's going to do when we bring her back anyway." Willow tried to reason with Dawn.  
  
Dawn sat down on the sofa and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, when she gets back to normal, she's not going to have anything to do with me....just like before."  
  
"Dawn, you know that's not true."  
  
"Yes it is." Dawn said hatefully.  
  
"I think that big girl Dawn is mad." Buffy said looking up at Spike.  
  
"No, she's just a little upset s'all. She'll be fine." Spike told her as he sat and helped her color.  
  
"Maybe I could make her a picture. That will make her feel better." Buffy said as she colored.  
  
Spike smiled at her. "Yeah, I think that'd be a real good idea. She'd like that."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Spike walked slowly to Buffy's. As much as he wanted to be there for the spell, he dreaded it just the same. He had spent the last week with her everyday and knew he'd miss the little girl that had treated him like a person and not just a thing.  
  
Walking up the front steps, he sighed heavily before knocking on the door.  
  
Dawn opened the door and stomped off leaving him standing there without even saying a word. Spike shook his head and let himself in before heading to the living room. What he saw, made him instantly sad. Everything was set up and ready to go.   
  
"Hey Spike!" Buffy squealed when she saw him.   
  
"Hey Buffy" Spike said as she ran over to him.  
  
"I get to go see my mommy soon." she told him excitedly.  
  
Spike looked up at everyone and wondered who had told her that. If Buffy remembered anything about this, he knew the 'mommy' lie would be the hardest part about it all.  
  
"That's great pet." he told her sadly.   
  
"Why are you here?" Xander asked Spike from his perch on the arm chair.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes and sighed. "Can we not do this right now whelp? Thought I might talk to Buffy before you all change her back."  
  
"Why, gonna try and persuade her into liking we when she gets back normal?"  
  
Spike looked at everyone in the room before looking back down at Buffy. "Come on pet, let's go talk a minute, okay." he said before taking her hand.  
  
"Don't take to long Spike...we're gonna start soon." Willow told him quietly.  
  
"Sure thing Red."  
  
Spike led Buffy through the kitchen and out the back door. He wanted to talk to her one last time before things went back to normal. Sitting on the steps, he smiled at her as she sat right beside him.  
  
"Will you still come see me when my mommy takes me home?" Buffy asked him scooting a little closer to him.  
  
"Well, I'd like to...but I think when you get around all your friends, you're gonna be to busy to hang around me." Spike told her, smiling lightly.  
  
"No I won't." she said smiling back at him. "You could come and play with me. My mommy won't care."   
  
"Well, I'll tell you what....if, when you get back and you want me around, I'll be here."  
  
Buffy smiled brightly at him. "Okay"  
  
"Spike...we're ready." Willow said as she stuck her head out the door and smiled at them.  
  
"Yeah, be right there." Spike told her. "Well ducks, guess we need to get back in there." he told her as he stood up.  
  
"Okay." Buffy said giggling.  
  
"What's so funny?" Spike asked her amused  
  
"You always call me funny names." she said as they approached the door.  
  
"Well then, I guess it's only fair for you to call me funny names to." he said smiling.  
  
Buffy stopped and looked up at him. She leaned her head to one side and smiled. "I'll call you Frosty"  
  
Spike laughed at her. "Why would you call me Frosty?"  
  
"Cause your hairs always white like Frosty's head." she told him giggling louder.  
  
"Okay...just for now, you can call me Frosty." Spike said shaking his head as he smiled down at her. "But don't tell anyone."  
  
"Okay" Buffy said as Spike opened the door and led her back to the Living Room.  
  
Spike entered the Living Room and Buffy was quickly led away. Willow brought her back shortly after, wrapped in Buffy's 'normal' robe.  
  
"But this one is to big." Buffy complained as Willow sat her in the circle they had drawn on the Living Room floor.  
  
"It'll be okay...you only have to wear it for a few minutes." Willow said.  
  
Buffy huffed a little and crossed her small arms over her chest. Spike smiled when he saw her. *Nothing ever changes* he thought as he saw his little Slayer, still getting upset when things didn't go her way.  
  
"Well, I think we're ready Giles." Willow said, smiling big.  
  
"Yes, well let's get this started.  
  
As Giles started the spell, Spike looked over at Buffy and gave her a small smile as she looked at him. When she turned her head, he quietly backed out of the room and left . As much as he wanted to stay, he knew Buffy wouldn't want him there when she was 'normal' again.   
  
As he walked down the walk-way and stepped onto the sidewalk, he paused and turned to the house and saw a flash of blue light. "Welcome back Slayer" he said softly as he turned and started home.  
  
~*~*  
  
"Buffy?" Willow asked quietly as she saw her friend sitting on the floor.  
  
"Uh, someone want to tell me..what's going on?" Buffy asked confused as she looked around the room.  
  
Everyone smiled as they took in the site of their friend. "It's a long story" Willow said, grinning big.  
  
"I guess so." Buffy said as she pulled her robe tightly around her and stood. She looked around the room, glancing at everyone there. She smiled weakly at them before stepping out of the circle. "Well, I'm really tired. I think I'm gonna go on up to bed. You can fill me in on everything tomorrow..okay Will." Buffy said as she walked to the stairs. "Good Night"  
  
Everyone stared at her as she went up the stairs to her room.  
  
"Is it just me...or is she acting weird?" Xander asked.  
  
"Well, she has just went through something pretty dramatic...maybe she's just freaked." Willow said, looking concerned.  
  
"Yes...she will need time to adjust." Giles told them. "We can see if she remembers anything tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Buffy sat quietly and ate her breakfast as Willow told her everything that happen. She had a very hard time hearing about everything from so many different points of view. What Willow told her was completely different from the events Xander had explained and it was getting more confusing by the second.  
  
"So, you don't remember any of it?" Willow asked Buffy with a frown.  
  
Buffy looked at the faces of her friends and smiled. "Nope..sorry, not a thing."  
  
"Well, we were afraid of that." Giles told her as he looked relieved. "It is probably for the best."   
"Yeah, why's that?" Buffy asked him.  
  
Everyone just sat and stared at her.  
  
Dawn sighed and turned to look at her. "They're just saying that because they don't want you to remember Spike and everything he did for you." she said, still mad at everyone for turning Buffy back so quickly.  
  
Buffy looked over at Dawn, confusion clearly clouding her face. "Spike...what did he do?"  
  
Dawn grinned big at her sister."You wouldn't let him out of your site. When he was here, you were hanging all over him. He sat with you when Willow and I had school and he played with you."  
  
"Really?" Buffy asked as she continued to look at her sister.  
  
"Yep...he even sat with you every night when you slept so you wouldn't have bad dreams."  
  
"Huh.." Buffy said as she stared off in space.  
  
"I tried to make him leave Buff...but you got a little defensive." Xander told her with a grin.  
  
Buffy looked up at him and grinned. "Yeah, how so?"  
  
Xander chuckled at her before a pained look crossed his face. "Well, you kicked me..'hard'..and called me a ..what was it again..oh, a 'poophead'." he said, earning a laugh from everyone...even Buffy. "Well, thank goodness you're all normal again and we won't have to put up with him anymore."  
  
Buffy gave him a little smile before standing up. "Well, think I'm gonna get dressed." she said before turning to leave.  
  
"Well, looks like she took it pretty well." Willow said after Buffy had left the room.  
  
"Yeah, unless she went upstairs to off herself now." Xander commented, as everyone glared at him. "What...if I had played nice with Spike, I'd off myself."  
  
Everyone rolled their eyes at him as they all quietly filed out of the kitchen, leaving him standing alone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Spike walked slowly through the streets of Sunnydale. He had been by Buffy's earlier and had wanted to talk to her when he saw that she was back to her normal self, but knew she wouldn't want a 'social' call from him. Sighing lightly, he headed for the only place in town to drown his sorrows...and possibly catch a glimpse of her.  
  
Making his way inside the Bronze, he hoped to find a way to ease the lonely feeling he had been having since he had last seen her.  
  
"Hey, what can I get ya?" the bar keep asked as Spike sat himself down at the bar.  
  
"Beer" he replied, looking out over the crowd of people gathered there.  
  
"Here you go."  
  
"Thanks mate" Spike told him as he picked up his drink and moved through the throng of people. He positioned himself in the shadows away from the crowds, and sat quietly.  
  
"Well, well...if it isn't the bleached wonder. Wonder how it's going to feel knowing Buffy don't want you around anymore?" Xander asked Spike as he walked up behind him, laughing slightly.  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "Don't you ever go away?"  
  
"I ask the same question about you all the time but...you just keep popping up." Xander said glaring at Spike.  
  
"Whatever whelp..not in the mood for a verbal battle tonight, so run along and play."  
  
Xander laughed. "Now see, here I was, coming over here to talk and you want to be all snotty. Well, here's a little bit of information for you..Spike, Buffy doesn't remember 'anything' of her 'Little self", so I guess that leaves you out in the cold, again..where you belong."  
  
Spike looked up at Xander, wishing his chip was out so he could knock the smug look off his face. "So, she doesn't remember anything?" he asked.  
  
"Nope...not one little bit. Good thing to, not sure you'd still be here if she did. She'd probably dust you just to save face...I would."  
  
Spike stood up from his chair and gave Xander a hard look before he quietly left him standing. He felt bad enough with the whelp making it worse. Exiting the club, he walked back to his crypt, hoping a little alone time would be the best way to deal with everything he was feeling.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Buffy dusted her sixth vamp and smiled as she dusted herself off. It felt good to be active again. Although Giles had insisted she take it easy for a few days, she had heard enough stories of her time as a toddler to last her a life time.  
  
Making her way through the cemetery, she had one goal in mind. To pay a certain bleached blonde a visit.  
  
Buffy opened the door of Spike's crypt and walked inside. He was sitting in his chair staring at the wavy lines on his TV.  
  
"Hey" she said quietly as she walked over to where he was.  
  
Spike turned his head and smiled weakly at her. "Hey Slayer..what brings you by?"  
  
"Just thought....um....I'd come by...uh..you know, to ...umm..."  
  
"Spit it out Slayer...."  
  
Buffy smiled and took a deep breath. "Spike, I just wanted to say Thank You for everything you did. Dawn and Willow told me how you took care of me...and well, I just wanted to say Thanks." she said, in one long breath.  
  
Spike smiled brightly at her. "Not a problem Slayer."  
  
Buffy leaned up against the column and stared at him. She never noticed how his eyes always sparkled when he smiled...not that he smiled that much, maybe it was because he never had a reason to. She smiled back at him and looked around before looking back over at him.   
  
"So, Xander tells me you don't remember anything. Good thing I guess." Spike told her as he stared at her.  
  
"Yeah, that's what they've all been telling me. I suppose they think I'm not strong enough to handle it. Imagine that, the Slayer not being able to handle a little toddler time." she said giggling.  
  
Spike smiled bigger at her and leaned his head sideways. He could still see the little girl when he looked at her, and the giggle was still the same.  
  
Buffy saw the intense stare he was holding her in and was starting to get a little fidgety. "Well, I guess I better go."  
  
"Oh, yeah....your friends probably have lot's more stories for ya." Spike said as she started for the door.  
  
"Don't remind me." Buffy said with a small smile. "If I have to hear one more little cute story I might have to slay one of them."  
  
Spike stood as she approached the door and walked over to her. "Yeah, well...I have to admit, you were pretty cute." he told her grinning.  
  
Buffy turned to face him and walked over to where he was standing. She reached up and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, much to his surprise. "Thanks Spike...I won't ever forget what you did. It means alot." she told him softly.  
  
Spike smiled a little as the spot her lips had touched his face, still stung with the warmth of her. "Anytime..Slayer." he said softly.  
  
Buffy smiled up at him. "Well, I'll see ya around Spike."  
  
"Goodnight Buffy." Spike said  
  
Buffy turned to the door and paused as she stepped out onto the landing. She turned to face him and grinned brightly as she looked at him. "Goodnight....Frosty" she said, winking at him and giggling at the expression on his face.  
  
Spike stood, staring at her. *Did she just call me Frosty?* he asked himself.  
  
"Hey...wait a minute!" Spike said as Buffy stepped down the steps, laughing. "You do remember!"  
  
Buffy's laughter could be heard all over the cemetery as she walked away.   
  
"Slayer, get back here!" Spike yelled grinning as he watched Buffy leave. He smiled big as he realized she remembered everthing that had happened.......maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.  
  
The End. 


End file.
